We Pedal Uphill: Stories from the States (2001-2008)
“Premiere:
March 2009
Written, directed and scored by Roland Tec
Produced by Chris Arruda, Brad Carpenter, Darren Chilton, David Heath, Kelly Lawman and Haydeé Sabogal
Executive Producer: John R. Tilley
A Pinkplot production
With Polly Adams, Jenny Bacon, Judith Barcroft, Stephen Bienskie, Ian Blackman, Kate Blumberg, Tom Bozell, Peter Bubriski, Marylouise Burke, Ellen Colton, Nat DeWolf, David Drake, Alvin Epstein, Bruce Faulk, Maureen Keiller, John Magaro, Paul Outlaw, Carl Palmer, Rick Park, Charles Parnell, Nicholas Pelczar, Merle Perkins, Molly Powell, Molly Purves, Robert Saoud, J. Tucker Smith, Stephen Barker Turner, Matt Walton and Kate Weiman
Cinematography by Boris Grygor
Editing by Agnes Grandits
Production design by Claire LaCompte
Costume design by Miguel de Contreras
Casting by Darren Chilton, David A. Heath and Haydee Sabogal”
One man drives an entire day to thank another for rescuing his family from the floodwaters of Katrina. A secretary to an election official must decide whether to bend the truth or lose her job. A PR handler scours the Redwood forest for the perfect spot for a presidential photo op. A mother watches silently from the window as her gay teenage son runs away from home in the middle of the night. These are just some of the characters brought to life with humor and empathy in Roland Tec’s tapestry of post-9/11 America. The thirteen stories that fill the landscape of We Pedal Uphill offer an intimate portrait of those who either stood bravely against the tide of fear or found themselves helplessly swept up in it.
This film was made during one of the darkest periods of American history -- from September 11, 2001 to the election of 2008. Now, as it seems the country may be turning a corner, this collection of vignettes serves as a testament to the countless tiny acts of bravery from all across the land that may have saved us all. Shot in more than a dozen states and over a period of two years, We Pedal Uphill features a cast of more than twenty award-winning Broadway and Off-Broadway actors.
“Neither self-righteous nor bombastic, these wide-ranging mini-tales coast on a gently insistent tone of regret. Without pointing fingers or naming names, Mr. Tec reminds us that change does not happen overnight.”
- Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
“Running the gamut of the post-9/11 political landscape (election fraud, Katrina, the Patriot Act), We Pedal Uphill—a film composed of 13 short, fictional sketches, each set and shot in a different state—would seem calculated to serve up that least desired of cinematic offerings: a self-conscious, all-inclusive portrait of the Way We Live Now. And yet, by channeling his larger critiques into a micro-level approach, writer-director Roland Tec offers a kaleidoscopic, mostly thoughtful portrait of America that avoids the insistently revelatory tone of more polished but less nuanced studio efforts.”
- Andrew Schenker, Slant